Nissan Annual Profit Rises on Strong US, China, Europe Sales

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co.’s fiscal year profit has improved 27 percent to 663.5 billion yen ($5.8 billion) as strong sales in the U.S., China and Europe offset damage from the strong yen.

But Nissan is forecasting a 19-percent drop in profit for the fiscal year through March 2018 at 535 billion yen ($4.7 billion) as research investment and raw material expenses bite into bigger sales and cost-cut efforts.

Nissan, which did not break down quarterly numbers, said Thursday that it sold 5.63 million vehicles globally for the fiscal year. It expects sales to grow to 5.83 million vehicles for the fiscal year through March 2018.

Yokohama-based Nissan’s U.S. sales rose 4 percent on-year on solid demand for the Rogue and Altima sedan. Sales in China rose 8 percent, while sales in Europe excluding Russia rose 7 percent for Nissan, which is allied with Renault SA of France.

All the major automakers are working on autonomous driving and mobility connectivity technology, but Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models, has been among the most aggressive.

Hurting Nissan’s bottom line in recent years is an unfavorable exchange rate. A strong yen erodes the value of overseas earnings by Japanese exporters like Nissan.

Toyota reported Wednesday its profit fell for the fiscal year ended March, its first annual profit drop in five years. Toyota expects its profit to drop for the fiscal year through March 2018 as well.